Situated in the lush Wolffork Valley and surrounded by stunning views of the Appalachian Mountains is a coeducational boarding school that has been preparing children for life for over a century. Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School offers a world of opportunity. Through their extensive curriculum and arts and athletics programme, students leave Rabun Gap as well-rounded individuals ready to lead in a changing world.
Along the way, they collect experiences to remember.
Rabun Gap is one of the top boarding schools in the US and is listed among the best boarding high schools in Georgia. Here, teachers guide, challenge, and inspire students to seek knowledge and broaden their horizons. Every class, trip and encounter means something – with lessons that last a lifetime.
Cheyney Moriarty will tell you that she learned how to be confident, which helped this boarding student from Hong Kong to excel in all aspects of school life. She plays on the volleyball team, serves as a Gap Guide admission ambassador, and even starred in the spring musical. “Rabun Gap has helped me find the things that I’m interested in and passionate about and helped me realise that I’m allowed to be confident about what I want and what I want to do,” she says.
With students from 56 countries and 15 US states, Rabun Gap’s community is like no other. This is where people from all walks of life meet and make lifelong friends.
“We’re a big family at Rabun Gap,” says Marco Pena from Monterrey, Mexico. “As a boarding community, we support each other. Every dorm is one, and we just take care of each other.”
Pair a faculty of dedicated and passionate teachers with a fantastic boarding community, and students of Rabun Gap have a great home away from home – the kind they can cherish for a lifetime. “What’s special to me about Rabun Gap is the teachers. We really have this personal connection between teachers and students,” shares student Rosine Yin from Shanghai. “Their office door is never closed. They are just always there for you.”
Preparing students for life beyond school
In small classrooms, Rabun Gap students learn how to think critically and creatively as they follow the school’s applied learning curriculum. Applied learning challenges students to research deeply, collaborate and create soloutions to local and global challenges. In the past years, 100% Rabun Gap graduates have received admission to the best colleges and universities around the world. Many graduates have found opportunities in business, law, medicine, animation, film, and Broadway.
But Rabun Gap is known for more than just its academics. Their excellent arts and athletics programmes help students to discover their talents and become well-rounded individuals.
Rabun Gap is home to one of the top arts programmes in the country. The 1,400-acre campus has a beautiful Arts and Technology Building, which includes three floors of studios, a 600-seat Rearden Theatre, art galleries, and performance spaces for the visual and performing arts.
Students can join courses and field trips in visual arts, instrumental and vocal music, digital media, technical theatre, and acting. “My favourite thing about being in the orchestra is that I know every day when I step through that door, I’ll be challenged and learn something new from all my talented musician friends,” says Yin. She’s heavily involved in the arts programme, participating in the orchestra, choir and dance.
Arts alumni have graduated to work in television, star in Broadway productions, and more.
What makes Rabun Gap arts unique, however, is its Cirque programme. It is one of the only schools in the US to offer circus arts, with the Cirque programme modelled after the Cirque du Soliel, a Canadian entertainment company and the most significant contemporary circus producer globally. Through this programme, students showcase their talents in drama, acrobatics, and dance to create original storytelling experiences. Each year, students create a regionally acclaimed Cirque Show featuring original performances.
Competitive athletic programmes
Athletics is a core part of the Rabun Gap experience – with many awards to show for this. Rabun Gap holds state championships in girls basketball and boys soccer and state finalists in American Football. Here, students receive elite-level training, prepare for college recruitment, and train under coaches with professional and collegiate experience.
Tuana Coskun, a girls basketball player from Istanbul, chose to attend Rabun Gap for these very reasons. She wants to be a professional basketball player – a dream that Rabun Gap can help her turn into a reality.
“This is the place where I can be at a high level academically and athletically. I can successfully do both at the same time,” she says. “Playing basketball here is very special for me because my dream since I was little was to continue my education and play basketball in America. All of my teammates and coaches here have always trusted and supported me. The best part of playing basketball in Rabun Gap is the home games because our student section comes to every game and supports us until the end.”
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